1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic confinement arrangement for animals and, more particularly, to a wire fence confinement arrangement which will cause a deterrent signal to be given to an animal as it approaches the boundary and also transmit an alarm signal to the owner if the animal ignores the deterrent and leaves the confinement area. It also permits the owner to communicate with the animal by voice carried by radio transmissions.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is often advantageous to confine an animal, for example, a dog, to a certain area and have some means to teach the animal not to leave the area. Alternatively, there are also situations where one would like to prohibit an animal from entering a designated area, for example, a garden or children's play area. Many times, it is impossible for the owner to constantly observe the animal, and another type of surveillance is necessary.
One system for teaching an animal to stay in a certain area is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,980,051 to Fury which includes a first ultrasonic pulse transceiver worn by a trainer and a second ultrasonic transceiver worn by the animal. The round-trip transit time of the pulse from the trainer to the dog and back to the trainer is monitored by the trainer's device. The device will then transmit a dog whistle sound when the transit time exceeds a predetermined value as set by the trainer. A problem with this arrangement is that it is not well suited to confining an animal to a designated area, since the transit time to one boundary may be different than the transit time to another boundary; for example, the distance between adjacent backyards. Further, it is possible that the animal will ignore the dog whistle sound and wander away from the designated area.
An alternative prior art arrangement is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,753,421 to Peck in which an arrangement for controlling an animal to prevent it from moving out of or into a restricted area is disclosed. A signal-emitting wire is used to define the restricted area and the animal wears a receiver in the form of a collar. When the animal nears the wire, the collar picks up the transmitted signal which triggers a circuit in the collar to give the animal an electric shock. Like the Fury arrangement, however, animals may ignore the electric shock given by the Peck collar and move out of the restricted area.
Thus, there remains in the prior art a need for an animal confinement system which is capable of signalling a trainer or owner when the animal has ignored the deterrent signal and has crossed the designated boundary line.